The next year the Russians took Minsk, Grodno (Hrodna) and Vilnius. With the simultaneous Swedish war disasters the Commonwealth had to accede in 1656 to the Truce of Vilnius accord. The Commonwealth's failure to emancipate the Cossacks led to a shift in the regional balance of power (the Khmelnytsky Uprising marks the turning point) and gave rise to the western expansion of the Russian Empire, which eventually resulted in the loss of the Commonwealth's independent existence.Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), pp. 44–45 Defense and foreign policy in time of crisis The Khmelnytsky Uprising was the beginning of a long period of internal crisis in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The external situation also deteriorated, because of the increased strength of Sweden, Russia, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire. Being forced to simultaneously fight on the Baltic and Ukrainian fronts, the Commonwealth incurred significant territorial losses, even though for the time being its existence was not realistically threatened. The Commonwealth was regarded by main European states, including France of Louis XIV, as a regional power and valuable partner, necessary component of the European balance of power. This perception was being reinforced by military victories, especially under the Hetman and then King John III Sobieski. In the decentralized state and treasury, the military potential was hampered by the inefficient fiscal apparatus and insufficient taxation. The Commonwealth in the second half of the 17th century developed huge indebtedness in respect to its own armed forces. Military confederations or rebellions, through which the army "collected" its own pay typically from royal and church estates, were getting increasingly common. Hetman Sobieski was unable to follow up his Khotyn victory in part because the unpaid Lithuanian and Crown troops left. The Commonwealth was able to field a 60,000 army (plus the unreliable pospolite ruszenie) at the very most, at times when the Habsburg monarchy or the Tsardom of Russia were capable of an effort twice that size. After the Cossack-Tatar wars and to a lesser degree after 1655, the armed forces had to be rebuilt almost completely. The Commonwealth forces had a much higher (50%) than in other European, infantry-dominated armies, proportion of cavalry, which was of unrivaled in Europe quality. The infantry was also of high battlefield value. Artillery was well-developed and effective, with nearly two thousand pieces present throughout the country. A majority